Legacy is not the same as purpose...

I used to know someone who told me it was important for them to leave behind a legacy. I began asking around and in the end all of my male friends stressed the importance of a legacy and my female friends were inconclusive. 

I take intrigue with the word legacy. Mainly because I don't like it. Sometimes when we are unhappy with our lives we want to have a feeling of accomplishment. I can understanding wanting to find happiness, however I don't see how a legacy plays into it.

I believe that if we concentrate on leaving behind memories or a claim to fame for other people, it will build enormous pressure. It is lot of energy to extol for the purposes of pleasing others or boosting our own self-esteem. It's a lot of energy to spend on a surfaced goal. I have rarely felt that I needed to make friends, family, strangers feel proud of me. I learned early on that I would never be able to please my perfectionistic mother, and as far as friends...well you can't please everyone. 

Reaching my own goals was never wrapped up in the expectancy of others. My life goal is to live the best life I can for myself. I think others can benefit from my efforts if I radiate goodness.

I think ultimately the legacy argument is really about finding a sense of purpose. I think at one time or another most of us has asked ourselves,  "what is the secret of life?", "why are we here?".

For us spiritual folks the answer to these questions relate to a God, Source, Universe, or however you refer your higher power or sense of energy.

Whether one believes in God or not I think that we can still examine a sense of purpose. First I think it's important to understand that "purpose" does not have to be limited to one thing or one grand event. We can have many purposes. Helping others is high on my list.

I believe that my choice of profession and ongoing study is an altruistic one. However, one does not have to be in the "helping profession" in order to contribute to society. Whether a therapist, teacher, bookstore seller, food server, coal miner. It is important to find and acknowledge each job's dignity. Most importantly through these jobs we interact with other human beings. It is our interaction that sets off a ripple affect in some way.

I think that our purpose(s) link directly to our interactions with others. Making a friendship and positively impacting that person is purpose. Encouraging personal growth, challenging each other, quarreling, making up, ending friendships, starting new ones. I think all of these actions have point, value and purpose. All of these actions affect others and those people will learn lessons and carry them out in their own lives. We are all ripples the pond.

In my view, our human purpose is to learn to love as selflessly as possible and to learn to feel love without guilt or doubt. While this may seem very typical, fluffy, hippie or Beatles-esque ("All You Need Is Love"), it is a concept that I think we can strive for and be challenged by. A concept that is harder than it sounds.